Why Rating Your Attorney is Bad for Your Lawsuit

Are rating systems appropriate in a profession where the best interest of the client and client satisfaction can be at odds? Following the passage of the Affordable Care Act, Forbes Magazine published an article entitled “Why Rating Your Doctor is Bad for Your Health,” critiquing the Act for conditioning the payment of Medicare reimbursement fees […]

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Friday 5: SEO Tips to Help Clients Find Your Website

Rank higher in search results – and see more business – with these search engine optimization tips. If you have a company website or blog, three little letters can make a huge difference: SEO. Search engine optimization (SEO) is an essential tool to help your online content get noticed by search engines, which means higher rankings […]

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Ambiguous: the History of Legal Sized Paper

Why do we have legal size paper? This post from the SU Law Library blog will tell you. Why do we have legal size paper? Check out this fun and informative post from the SU Law Library blog to find out. Do you use legal size paper? Gone paperless? Have your own IT cat? Tell […]

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What is NLE, anyway?

Learn more about the New Lawyer Education Program with Attorney Vincent Humphrey. New Lawyer Education originated with a Supreme Court mandate in 2006 (see APRs 5 and 18), which requires all attorneys new to practice in Washington to complete a minimum of four hours of free education prior to their admission to the bar (PREP). […]

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procrastination busters for lawyers

4 Procrastination Busters for Lawyers

The goal is to feel rejuvenated by the time we spend away from our work, as opposed to feeling avoidant of our responsibilities. A computer has 2 competing purposes: a mind organizer and a mind eraser. The tool we use to refine our thoughts in precision crafted legalese is married to the ultimate implement of […]

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Friday 5: Tips for Writing a Great Blog Post

Considering starting a blog or contributing to NWSidebar? Learn what makes a great, and not-so-great, blog post. If you have a blog, want to contribute to NWSidebar, or are thinking about starting your own blog (legal or otherwise), here are a few tips that will help you write great blog posts. 1. One at a […]

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Keep Your Clients Safe in the Cloud

How secure is the cloud? How much security should I give my client’s documents in the cloud? The “cloud” has been the topic of many conversation threads on the Solo and Small Practice Section’s listserv. The Section will certainly include it in our consideration of topics for both the next annual CLE and for our quarterly […]

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Friday 5: The Daily Planner

Tired of syncing all your devices? Here are 5 great paper day planners to help organize your life. As a twenty-something “young lawyer” who owns an iPhone, an iPod, and a MacBook (and uses Clio timekeeping at the office), you would think I keep all calendars synced to the nearest electronic device. I do not. […]

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If you accept credit cards from clients, you should read this!

Soon, a new IRS regulation will go into effect that impacts lawyers who accept debit and credit card payments from clients. If certain precautions are not taken before Jan. 1, 2013 you may adversely impact your client trust accounts. Section 6050W was added to the Tax Code in January 2012, requiring credit card processing companies […]

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Blogs, Blogs, Blogs

If you’re reading this, you already know that NWSidebar offers Washington lawyers a fresh assortment of news, commentary, and tips. You can browse it, search it, or have new posts delivered to your email inbox. If you like this medium for getting legal updates, there are lots of other law-related blogs to check out. Interested […]

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Litigating With Your iPad

Your iPad is more than a toy: it’s a valuable tool that a growing number of attorneys are using during litigation to make their presentations more mobile, efficient, and effective. And why not? A recent Washington State Supreme Court decision (In re Glassman, Wash. Supreme Court, 8447-5, Oct. 18, 2012; Chambers, J., concurring) states that […]

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Nomophobia: My Cell Phone Is Running My Life

You’re eating lunch with a colleague. As you discuss a case your firm is trying, the person across the table taps their smartphone just long enough for the screen to light up. The phone isn’t ringing or vibrating, but they check it anyway. They make eye contact with you, only to look away a few […]

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Click “Like”

Washington United for Marriage, The Seattle Aquarium, Jon Stewart, napping. Every company, movement, politician, and mundane activity has a Facebook page. These pages are “liked” by thousands of people (napping currently has 120,756 “likes”). With the click of a button, you express interest. But is clicking “like” or “favoriting” a tweet the same as stating an […]

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